Nohren nets 29 as Olney gets to .500

Behind a 29-point outburst from 6-1 sophomore Tate Nohren, the Olney Tigers won for the fifth time in six games Saturday night as they defeated Effingham St. Anthony 66-56 in a Haydens Hoop Shoot matchup at St. Anthony's Enlow Center.

Behind a 29-point outburst from 6-1 sophomore Tate Nohren, the Olney Tigers won for the fifth time in six games Saturday night as they defeated Effingham St. Anthony 66-56 in a Haydens Hoop Shoot matchup at St. Anthony's Enlow Center.

Nohren made 10 field goals, including four three-pointers, and was 5-of-6 at the free-throw line for the Tigers (8-8), who led 15-10, 31-20 and 49-37 at the quarter stops.

"Tate is playing with a lot of confidence right now," Olney head coach Rob Flanagan said of Nohren, who is averaging 17.8 points over his last six games. "He can score in a variety of ways."

Evan Eagleson tacked on 16 points, 12 coming behind the arc, and Alec St. Pierre had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists against the host Bulldogs (3-11). It was Olney's first victory over St. Anthony under Flanagan, now in his 15th season at the helm of the Tigers.

"That's a nice thing for this team to accomplish and I'm proud of my guys," Flanagan said. "It's good to get to .500. Now, you try and get above it.

"Tate, Evan and Alec are giving us a scoring punch, Ethan (Eagleson) has stabilized our backcourt and Ryan (Eagleson) has turned into our defensive stopper. Noah (Buscher) and Michael (DeVenecia) played well this weekend and Luke (Hahn) gave us a spark off the bench tonight."

Jacob Schuette and John Goeckner shouldered the scoring load for St. Anthony, tallying 23 and 21 points, respectively, while pulling down eight boards apiece.

"St. Anthony started 6-5, 6-5, 6-6, 6-3 and 6-2," Flanagan said. "Schuette is 6-3 and we're not guarding him with anyone taller than 5-10 and Goecker (6-2) played tough around the basket."

The Bulldogs owned a 28-14 rebounding advantage but the Tigers attempted 14 more free throws, going 12-of-17 at the charity stripe and 23-of-42 (55 percent) from the field. St. Anthony shot 49 percent (26-of-53) but was just 1-of-4 from long range compared to 8-of-16 for Olney.

"We did a really good job attacking their 1-3-1 and finding the open man," Flanagan said. "We've been sound on the offensive side of the ball if you take out the Pinckneyville game (a 42-22 loss to the Panthers on December 29 at the Duster Thomas Hoops Classic)."

News and notes: The Tigers began the season 3-7 with losses to Teutopolis (12-3), Marshall (10-5), Robinson (14-2), Flora (12-3), Mount Carmel (6-6) and Charleston (11-4).

"We didn't start out with a lot of easy games but there's been a lot of positives after a slow start," Flanagan said. "We're a young team and we've tried some different lineups.

"This team is learning that success doesn't come easy. Every day is important if you want to be good. If you want to be good, you've got to practice hard. Look at Illinois. They lost at Purdue, then had two brutal practices and beat Ohio State by 20."

Page 2 of 2 - With backcourt mates Nick Dobbs and Chance Madden out due to injuries, Ethan Eagleson had seven points, five assists, two steals and two rebounds in Olney's road wins last weekend.

Eagleson was 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

"Ethan told me the other day, 'This is a lot different than grade school,' and I think admitting that was a big weight off his shoulders," Flanagan said of the 5-11 freshman. "Ethan is a true point guard but still not a finished product. He's figuring some things out about the high-school game and we're excited about his potential."